Nightmare! Sleeping less than six hours a night may increase the risk of infections by more than a quarter, research suggests
- Researchers from the University of Bergen, Norway, recently published the study
- They asked 1,848 people in general practices in Norway how much sleep they got
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Sleeping less than six hours a night may increase your risk of infections, a study suggests.
Researchers asked 1,848 people in general practices in Norway how much sleep they got on average per night.
They then asked if they had had a respiratory infection in the past three months, such as a cold or stomach flu, urinary tract infection (UTI), skin or eye infection, or any other type of infection.
Those who said they slept less than six hours a night were 27 percent more likely to have an infection in the past three months compared to those who got enough sleep — the recommended seven to eight hours a night.
The study may have been too small to provide much clear trends between sleep deprivation and specific infections.
Those who said they slept less than six hours a night were 27 percent more likely to have an infection in the past three months compared to those who got enough sleep — the recommended seven to eight hours a night
Researchers from the University of Bergen (pictured) asked 1,848 people in general practices in Norway how much sleep they got on average per night
But the results show that people who got less than six hours of sleep were 92 percent more likely to get the stomach flu with vomiting or diarrhea.
Meanwhile, those with insomnia were 41 percent more likely to have a urinary tract infection.
There is some evidence that too little sleep makes the immune system less able to fight off an infection, but more research is needed.
Previous studies have shown that people who are infected with a cold virus are more likely to actually catch a cold because they have not been able to fight off the virus if they are deprived of sleep.
Dr. Ingeborg Forthun, who led the study from the University of Bergen in Norway, said: ‘Sleep is important not only for people’s well-being, but also for their health, including their body’s ability to fight infection.
“More awareness of the importance of sleep is needed among the general public and physicians.”
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, found that nearly 54 percent of those surveyed in doctor’s offices had contracted an infection in the past three months.
Those who slept less than six hours were 57 percent more likely to have received antibiotics in the past three months.
The researchers say that sleeping the recommended amount may reduce infections.
However, those who reported sleeping more than nine hours were 44 percent more likely to get an infection than those who slept seven to eight hours a night. Sleeping too long can be a sign of underlying ill health.
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